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How to add additional hard drives with no more case space?

I

iamtrout

Diamond Member
Hi all. I just jumped on the 2x160GB for $90 deal, which means I now have a total of 6 hard drives. My case's HDD cage only holds 4. I don't want to go external so can any of you think of any options for mounting two extra hard drives? I only have one CD-ROM bay free, and that's probably going to be filled in the next couple of weeks or so.

I was thinking of just shoving another hard drive cage in there.

You can see my setup here.
 
😕

All that's in one machine? Network your storage, dude. 😛 But if you insist on having it all-in-one, you can suspension-mount the other two drives with 3/8" shock cord.

Just for god's sake, ensure you have adequate cooling for all of those. The two things that kill hard drives are dust and heat.

- M4H
 
Thanks for the idea. Unfortunately, as you may notice from my case pictures (edited after you posted, sorry) there is no room of suspension of any kind. Currently the four hard drives are cooled very well. These two extra ones are going to be real tricky though, and I mean REAL tricky.
 
Maybe you could make a hole in the window, fun the cables outside the case, and affix some kind of box to the top of side of the case to house extra HDD's?
It looks like there is no room at all actually inside the case for extra drives, so the only solution is to run the SATA/PATA cables (whichever) to the outside of the case, and make a caddy for them somehow.
 
Looking at your current setup I would go with another case if you insist on more hard drives. From past experience on building systems and numerous hard drive failures, that case you currently have is not providing the cooling needed for those hard drives. Those hard drives are sandwiched too close together to provide decent air flow. I had a hard drive setup much like yours with a 120mm fan in the front blowing out, it didn't work and only pulled air from the sides of where the fan was mounted. Using 6 hard drives and 4 5.25" slots, I would consider switching cases to a workstation case.
 
Maybe this is just me... but do you actually need all of those drives? Couldn't you maybe replace a couple of them with the 160s that you just bought?

That would be a lot easier than going through some contortionist activities just to throw in some more giggage.
 
I have the same case as you esentially (antec lanboy, I think the only diffence is the front bezel). I stuck an extra hard drive cage in mine right below the existing one, since the other one wasn't working out for my setup. I only have 2 hd's though, I wouldn't really recommend putting 6 in that tiny case.
 
Thanks for the replies. As far as the existing 4 go, they are quite cool (lukewarm) and I can feel air being pulled from the 120mm through the tiny spaces between the drives. I sealed the fan in such a way that it cannot just pull air from the sides; it has to pull air past the drives.

I don't have money for a whole new case 🙁

Yes, I need 840 gigs. On the 520GB that I have now I only have about 7 free.

As messed up as this sounds, I think I'm going to have to make a box and mount it to the front top of my case next to the rad.



 
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
😕

All that's in one machine? Network your storage, dude. 😛 But if you insist on having it all-in-one, you can suspension-mount the other two drives with 3/8" shock cord.

Just for god's sake, ensure you have adequate cooling for all of those. The two things that kill hard drives are dust and heat.

- M4H
Click to expand...

Yea I'd set up a file server. Old computers are cheap.
 
Compgeeks.com has a 4-drive Firewire enclosure on their site, but if you're determined to cram them inside that thing, http://www.evercase.com has 2-drive brackets that they sell to expand their cases to 4 drives (under $10 - get the rubber drive cushions/special screws for it too while you're there). Up to you to figure out where/how to put it. Only needs two screw holes to mount the fixed part - the drive bracket then snaps onto that similarly to the bracket you now have. You have to call them to order as there is no e-commerce function on their web site - stupid, I know...

.bh.
 
take the ones with less GB and install this new ones that should allow you more room, if not just clean all that pr0n 😉 or think in get 250 Gb HDs
 
With all the Hard Drives you have I am surprised that you wouldn't have bought some 320gb drives. Your PSU is probably begging for mercy.
 
There have been mid-sized, and even full Tower Height cases with undersize HD cages for the size case. Someone was making a lovely pair of hangar brackets that attach to the outside of the existing cage and extend it into empty space below for three more 3 1/2 Hdd's; CompUSA was selling them for 12.99 at first, then for 14.98, and apparently not selling tons of them, so they no longer list that product.

I wish that I'd bought two pairs when I had the chance. Now I wish I could find a new source for those neat brackets.

:brokenheart:
 
Looks to me like there is room to mount then directly on the bottom of the case. You only need 2 mounting holes in the case bottom for each. I have drilled a couple of screw holes in several cases to mount drives to the bottom before (usually desktop or mini-tower). Mount them with the connectors facing each other so one data cable will reach both.
 
Originally posted by: iamtrout
Thanks for the replies. As far as the existing 4 go, they are quite cool (lukewarm) and I can feel air being pulled from the 120mm through the tiny spaces between the drives. I sealed the fan in such a way that it cannot just pull air from the sides; it has to pull air past the drives.

I don't have money for a whole new case 🙁

Yes, I need 840 gigs. On the 520GB that I have now I only have about 7 free.

As messed up as this sounds, I think I'm going to have to make a box and mount it to the front top of my case next to the rad.
Click to expand...

Putting them on top will most likely facilitate 36" IDE cables, which are a bad choice for data integrity. That case is overused in my opinion; I would save up for a workstation case with proper cooling designed into it. Thinking back I setup a few cases that had the hard drives setup like that, never been able to keep them cool under heavy use when they are stacked like that. My fan was sealed up in the same manner as yours but it sucked are from the cracks and the sides on the inside rather than through the hard drives, weird. I ended up selling it and getting a nice workstation case for under $100.

 
Originally posted by: Dragonbate
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
😕

All that's in one machine? Network your storage, dude. 😛 But if you insist on having it all-in-one, you can suspension-mount the other two drives with 3/8" shock cord.

Just for god's sake, ensure you have adequate cooling for all of those. The two things that kill hard drives are dust and heat.

- M4H
Click to expand...

Yea I'd set up a file server. Old computers are cheap.
Click to expand...

$25 computer + NASLite = Win.

- M4H
 
How about on the inside of the side panel(s). My main SCSI drive is mounted nose down (but the mount was already there) and it seems happy that way... It's safe to mount modern drives in any orientation except more than 5 deg. off from horizontal or vertical. I have a taboo against upside-down (PCB up) though, if I find one that way, I FIX IT!

.bh.
 
I've got a couple of reccomendations.
1) new case. this is the least practical from a cost standpoint, but best from an overall standpoint (I've got a LL PC-61, which has a 5-drive rack at the bottom, in addition to 3 external 3 1/2" bays.
2) Lian-Li makes some hard drive bay extenders. Link They also make an MF-30 model that holds 3 models, although I'm not sure where to get it.
3) Something that I found that does the same thing as the bay extenders, but with much less class. Link. This is great if you've got some lying around. But if you go out and buy a roll for this one application, it might actually be more than the LL mounting brackets.
 
Originally posted by: WW2Planes1
2) Lian-Li makes some hard drive bay extenders. (But Directron is sold out.) They also make an MF-30 model that holds 3 models, although I'm not sure where to get it.
Click to expand...
The previously mentioned extender brackets that some CompUSA's have carried is on their web site at

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=294973&pfp=SEARCH

But you can't order it any way other than for local pickup, and only if there is stock on hand in a local store. I looked under every possible category a week ago, didn't find this then. It is credited to "FMI" and the price is $14.99

:disgust:



 
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